Barbra Amesbury speaks out
on breast cancer, art and activism

urvivors,
in Search of a Voice: The Art of Courage (see my review
and reflections elsewhere on this
site) is the brainchild of two women who may be Toronto's most respectable
lesbian couple: Barbra Amesbury and Joan Chalmers of the Woodlawn Foundation,
one of Canada's highest-profile arts organizations. Over cappuccino
in the kitchen of their Rosedale house, I spoke to Amesbury about the
show, and the fledgling breast cancer activist movement.

"We have to ask all the women who went to the barricades at the
start of the AIDS movement to come home now," she said. "I
won't compare diseases, but it's like this: the western front's taken
care of. We have enough troops there now. What we need is reinforcements
on the eastern front. And unless women stand up for women, it's not
going to happen."

Breast cancer activists have a lot to fight for, including improvements
in the potentially deadly treatments still in use. "In the last
thirty years, treatment has not changed. Radiation still burns, it still
kills the good with the bad, and chemotherapy is still a search and
destroy mission. The women who have had it pumped through their veins
know that. Their veins collapse, and their immune system is destroyed
forever. Women will tell you "I would never do chemotherapy again,
because when it came back, I had nothing to fight it with.'" And
even those treatments aren't always easy to come by. "I can't stand
the fact that a woman has to wait twelve weeks for radiation, and maybe
that's when the tumour's moving. That could be the difference between
life and death."

One of the challenges Amesbury and Chalmers faced with the show was
whether to take money from corporate donors who might be responsible
for releasing the carcinogens that cause the problem in the first place.
"We had lots of opportunities to take money from sponsors, especially
now that it's a hit. But they're all suspect, and that's why we paid
for it ourselves. It's incredible, the polluters out there, and it's
a real conflict. I believe that the environment is the biggest cause
of cancer. You don't have to be a brain scientist to figure out that
the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink are killing
us."

The show, and the breast cancer movement itself, have particular relevance
to lesbians, since research has indicated we may be at greater risk
of the disease. But while lesbians have been central in breast cancer
activism in the US, Amesbury has found a dearth of dykes in the Canadian
movement. The few organizations we do have, like LACES (Lesbians And
Cancer Education and Support) don't impress her. "They're pretty
low key. And they can't stay insular like that; they've got to come
into the other groups. In the States, lesbians are in the forefront
of every organization! And not just sick lesbians, but well lesbians.
It's ridiculous to think that you can't belong to the club until you
get sick. As women, every one of us could be next in line."

All of which brings to mind one of the flaws many have cited in the
show: the lack of any overt lesbian content. Amesbury has little patience
with that complaint. "All women are at risk. Everything in that
show resembles every woman. But we didn't dictate that; we just created
the environment for it to happen. It really was the survivors who controlled
the issue, and yes, there were gay women involved.

"We have to stand as one. That's why lesbians should come out of
their organizations and join the other groups that exist here in Toronto
-- like the Alliance of Breast Cancer Survivors. In the AIDS movement
there wasn't any of this "Oh, and what class are you from?' But
in the women's movement we get into all this divisive bullshit, and
it's time we put all that away. End of the game, everybody. Leave your
egos and your political beliefs at the door. There's no time for infighting
-- women are dying."

And it's not just lesbians, either. "Gay men should get involved
too. We fought for you; now it's payback time. Their mothers die. Their
sisters die. Their female friends, who were on the front lines with
AIDS, are dying now. There's supposed to be this bond between gay men
and women -- so where the hell is it? I was there for you; why aren't
you here for me? The gay community is a powerful community! Let's bring
our energies and our expertise to this fight."

All content copyright 1999-2006 by the
individual authors, where cited, or by
Lynna Landstreet
where not specifically credited.